As some of you may know, ICM exists only from the generosity of private donations, and our donations are not always consistent. We have our “dry spells” and quite often, we would have to literally close our doors within 2-3 months if donations were slow in coming or stopped altogether.

That’s why we are super excited to announce that a donor has offered to match all donations up to $100,000, until December 31st, 2017!!

If we raise the complete $100,000, we will have $200,000 for ICM! This fundraiser would have a tremendous impact on our organization and the work we do in McCreary County.

As it is with many charities, the need exceeds the donations, and here at ICM, we need help! Right now, we have 200 families who receive food, toiletries, clothing and baby items from our food pantry. We have many more that need help but we just don’t have the resources to add additional families.

Our computers are 6 years old and came to us used when we received them. Our facilities are 16 years old and the costs for repairs and maintenance are growing. Our heating and air systems have had several recent repairs and will need to be replaced this year or the next. The cost of utilities, maintenance, insurance, and food for the pantry continue to rise each year.

In 2016 we assisted with 41 home projects. Many families were living in unspeakable conditions. For one mom, a rainstorm in the middle of the night would cause water to pour down on top of her and her children in their small bed. She would gather them up to spend the night on the sofa until the storm passed.

We have installed running water in kitchens where there were none. We've added bathrooms in homes that lacked one. We've repaired roofs, walls, floors and added ramps for those that were wheelchair bound. For one family, we replaced a wood burning stove to provide heat on cold nights. We have accomplished so much, but we need help to continue providing families a safe place to live.

We are blessed to have mission groups from multiple states, visit us on almost a weekly basis. Sometimes, we only have a few hours between when one group leaves and another arrives. Though we have many volunteers, we need someone on a more consistent level to help take care of the day to day needs of the center.

We have dreams of developing ways to improve the health of the community. Kentucky is one of the 5 least healthy states in the country and it is a very serious issue here in McCreary county. Many are plagued by heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Sometimes, it’s cheaper to feed your family with a bag of chips or a box of mac and cheese than with higher priced fruits and vegetables. Though many families garden, hunt and fish to get by, we would like to teach and help others to find alternative and healthier ways to eat.

We have a dream of one day adding a walking trail. There are no sidewalks and the road is a dangerous place to walk. A walking trail would be a great way to increase activity levels for both children and adults in the community.

Our playground equipment needs significant repairs and updating. Everyday, we look out the window and see kids enjoying the playground. We’d like to expand the play area to accommodate more children. We would also like to expand the basketball area to build a two hoop basketball court since many of our youth meet regularly to hang out and play basketball.

We would like to create an art center at ICM. For the children, it would encourage creativity, pride and confidence. It would help develop motor skills and visual learning. But most of all, art would be such a joy for these kids. For the adults, we want to encourage cottage industry. We want to regularly host crafters who will teach their trade and assist our local folks in marketing their wares. There is a lot of talent here in McCreary county and we would like to help create another form of income for families.

ICM has grown more then we could ever have imagined. We would not have succeeded without your generous donations. Our center has become a safe place for children to play and where they are taught values to help them lead more successful lives. It’s a place that encourages personal responsibility and higher education. It's a place where parents can get clothes for their families and food to fill their pantries. It's a place where kids have access to the internet to work on homework and where adults can work on their GED's. It’s a place to turn when there’s nowhere left to turn.

We are so blessed for having all of you in our lives and this matching donation comes at a much needed time. We are very grateful for this opportunity and we ask that you consider helping us achieve our goal in matching this $100,000 completely to create $200,000 in needed funds for the center. This is a rare opportunity and we don’t want even one dollar to go to waste.

Each month the donor will match all donations received for that month. We have until December 31, 2017 to raise up to $100,000. Please help this miracle come true!

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts,

Hilton and Barb

Copyright @ 2017 Integrated Community Ministries, Inc.

Integrated Community Ministries is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt non-profit 501C (3) organization. Your gift is tax deductible as allowed by law.